Lucia Esteves
Lucia Esteves is a Brazilian-born citizen of Rapture, born in 1924. Biography Early Life in Brazil Lucia was born in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1924, and lived in a family in absolute poverty. The neighbourhood was plagued by gangs, violence, crime, disease and poverty. Her father was a crippled war veteran (of the Contestado War) who had no place to live, and her mother had to work as a prostitute to earn money. She was the eldest surviving child, and following the murder of her mother by a client in 1937 (soon followed by her father's suicide by starvation), she was left to care for her younger brother Jose and her younger sister Helena at the age of 13. She took on a job in a small factory producing cheap pharmaceuticals. Her hardworking 19-year old cousin, Henrique Esteves, the oldest and most experienced relative she had, suggested they migrate to America, and when she was 14, in late 1938, after Henrique had made the necessary arrangements, they left for America with some other family friends. Life in America After several months travelling, they settled in Los Angeles, California. While they still had abysmal living conditions, life for the group was much better then it was back in Brazil, though Lucia did miss the culture and the climate. At 16, in the year 1940, Lucia decided to help her older relatives, who were struggling for cash, and took a job as a maid for a young European-born businessman named Ferdinand Drake and his wife Matilda. She later went on to become his secretary and a business advisor. Ferdinand was a high-ranking member of a company named Mason Holdings, and was one of the richest men in the state. Despite his objectivist political views and his snobbery, he was a good employer who treated and paid Lucia well. Matilda however could be said to have been a bit of a posh bitch. The next couple of years were eventful, yet calm compared to her earlier life. A couple of the family friends who they had came to America with moved on, and a disastrous fire that wiped out several blocks meant the neighbourhood the Esteves family resided in remained poor. Henrique started a family, the 15-year old Jose met a girl called Francisca in 1943 and Ferdinand became even richer thanks to the war (Mason Holdings doing particularly well in artillery, engines, coal and steel), and he and Matilda had a daughter named Angie. In the mid-40s, Lucia noticed Ferdinand taking a keen corporate and personal interest in underwater exploits. When asked, he said it was a personal project he was helping a friend with. At the end of the war, Ferdinand explained the situation to her; he was leaving the surface world to a freedom-based society, a utopia. As she was a good employee and a good person, he asked her if she would like to leave her impoverished life on the surface and come down with him. She would have a stable job and be given a decent apartment. She agreed on one condition; she could bring Henrique, Jose, Francisca, Helena, their families and a couple of family friends down with them. She eventually managed to convince everyone but Henrique, who remained sceptical and wanted to know more (and Lucia did not know more than Ferdinand had told her), to come down with her. In 1946, Ferdinand and Lucia siphoned off cash and Mason Holdings products (like steel, machinery and supplies) to help create Rapture, and by the time the lost funds and assets were noticed and traced to Ferdinand, he, Matilda and Angie were long gone, and the Esteves family with them. Life in Rapture They settled down fairly quickly, making friends and getting stable lives. Ferdinand started up a large company named Drake Enterprises and the Esteves family soon got jobs and homes in some of the more well-off poor districts. Jose and Francisca got married in 1950, and had twins, named Henrique (in honour of their cousin on the surface) and Monique (named in honour of another friend who remained on the surface), in 1951. One of their friends, named Miguel, started a small grocery business. Everything was going well. The arrival of ADAM didn't have much affect on their lives; Drake Enterprises didn't really invest in it (unlike many of the other big businesses) and the most they used it for was a small boost while working or for party tricks. However, the economic depression and the smuggling crisis did have an affect on their lives. Miguel had to close his business and relocate to Pauper's Drop, Jose and Francisca had to relocate to Apollo Square, furious at how Lucia had not even seriously tried to get financial support from Ferdinand. However, Ferdinand had other problems on his mind; his wife was an ADAM addict, his daughter was rebellious and lapping up Lamb's teachings despite her well-off background and he noticed that steel supplies were becoming dangerously low, not just for Drake Enterprises, but for Rapture as a whole. Jose and Francisca saw first-hand the increasingly desperate measures Ryan went to to stop smugglers, and fearing for their children, gave Henrique to Helena, and not wanting to put even more financial strain on Helena, gave Monique to an orphanage in Sirens Alley. One night in September 1958, with things getting worse on all accounts, Drake decided to see Fontaine about getting a new steel supply (having heard from other business leaders about Fontaine's smuggling being reliable and trustworthy), and left Lucia in charge of his house until he got back. He never did. It turned out that the day Sullivan and the security team raided all of Fontaine's hide-outs, including the factory Ferdinand was in. Ferdinand was in a storeroom with one of the lower-level goons at the time, and an explosion from the battle trapped them within. As no-one knew where he was for certain but Lucia, and she did not want to get directly involved in the smuggling situation in case she or someone close to her suffered for it, so no serious rescue attempt at clearing the rubble was mounted. Lucia was now jobless and had to relocate to Apollo Square in increasing desperation. Life in Apollo Square was arguably just as bad, if not worse than, life in the favela. She blamed herself for getting her family and friends involved in this mess, and was powerless to help. Atlas soon appeared, and Jose and Francisca supported his cause and joined his army, determined to get a fair future for themselves and those they cared for. He and Francisca participated in raids, including the New Years attack, despite Lucia advising them not to get involved in the situation. Much to Lucia's disgust, Jose and Francisca helped bring in the screaming Little Sisters and harvest them for ADAM, then burn the bodies afterwards. That was until Francisca was killed and Jose was captured in a raid, where he was sent to Persephone to be turned into a Big Daddy. The next night, a smaller, tired raiding party returned, with some supplies and a Little Sister. Lucia recognised the girl as her niece Monique. She was able to use her guile, charisma and cunning to slip the Little Sister out of their hands, and made a run for it. She knew there was no way to return her to normal, and she could not send her to Miguel, Helena, the Drakes or someone else she trusted, as it was, if not impossible, too risky. She wanted to keep Monique safe until she found a cure for her condition, no matter how unbearable or risky she got. So, she decided to slip into Olympus Heights, avoiding security, and made a home for herself in the sewers, working day and night to keep Monique out of harm's way. One night she woke up and noticed Monique was gone, leaving some of her stuff behind. She looked around the sewers, and saw no place she could have gone (missing a note left behind, tacked to Monique's mattress). In confusion, and scared witless, she went into the street, sobbing maniacally in desperation and regret, abandoning all subtlety, and was shot dead by a patrolling Rapture policeman for breaking curfew, being a suspect insurgent and "not cooperating". Audio diaries The fate of Jose and Francisca Big Raid Today Hook, Line and Sinker A raiding party brings in Monique Esteves A Successful Raid: Damn A Successful Raid: Great Category:Characters